All I Want for Christmas is a Dragon by Seana Kelly

Author:Seana Kelly [Kelly, Seana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781641972475
Publisher: NYLA

SIX

All I Want for Christmas Is You

We’d been planning to close The Slaughtered Lamb on Christmas Eve, but Dave and Audrey said they didn’t have anything better to do, so they offered to open for any of our customers who likewise had nowhere special to go. Audrey had even picked up Santa hats for her and Dave.

I went to my own apartment last night, wanting to finish wrapping gifts. My family was Buddhist, but ever since Lilah and I were little we’d loved the twinkly lights and decorations, the Christmas songs and Claymation TV shows so much, our parents let us have a secular celebration.

Bodhi Day on December eighth is actually our big winter holiday. We celebrate the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama achieving enlightenment. Our huge extended family gets together then. Christmas is just the twenty-fifth, except in our family where we have a tree, presents, cookies, and spend the day watching holiday movies. With George’s family, I was looking forward to getting an insider’s view of the holiday.

I had one thing left to pick up to complete Benvair’s gift, but I needed to go to Mom and Dad’s house to get it. I grew up in the North Beach district, lots of Italian and Chinese restaurants, lots of little parks. Our neighborhood was very family-oriented. The apartment I lived in now was farther west on Russian Hill. It was on the top floor of an old Victorian boarding house. It wasn’t much, but it had a great view of Coit Tower in the distance.

Luckily, I caught Mom before she went out. I was going to need her help.

When I put my key in the front door, she was already pulling it open. “Owen,” she crooned happily, like she hadn’t just seen me a few days ago. Kissing my cheek, she drew me into a hug. “Look at you. You look so tired.” She dragged me out of the entrance festooned with holiday lanterns and closed the door. “I’ll fix you lunch. All these extra hours, you’re not getting enough sleep. Come.” She led me into the kitchen, nudging me toward a chair at the table.

“Mom, I’m fine. Really.” But she was already heating up leftovers. Now that I thought about it, I was hungry, so good. I’d eat and then we’d start searching in the attic.

After she put a piping hot plate of beef noodles in front of me, she sat down and I explained what I wanted.

“Are you sure you want to do this? They’re family heirlooms.”

“Would you be upset if I did?” I hadn’t considered Mom not wanting to lose them. I should have.

“Well, you tell me. Is he the one? This is the one you want to spend your life with?”

I swallowed. “I think so.”

She pinned me with her mom look. “Be sure.”

Going with my heart, my gut, I said, “Yes.”

“Okay. When you finish, we’ll go up and get them. I’ll help you wrap the box. Benvair Drake is a formidable woman, but I know she’ll care for our heirlooms like the treasures they are.

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